Posts Tagged: france

07
Oct

2014

Transcanal: The World’s Shortest Canal Chairlift?

Transcanal. Image from Wikipedia, by Tusco.

Tucked away in the picturesque seaside resort town of Palavas-les-Flots, there exists a nearly unknown (at least in the English speaking world) but delightful little chairlift called the Transcanal.

Built in 1977, the Transcanal is only 83m in length and transport joyriders across the coastal river of Le Lez for €1.20 (one way) or €2.00 (roundtrip).


The system connects riders to two separate beach areas in addition to the host of amenities on each side. On the “East” side station, riders are dropped off to what appears to be restaurants and an ice cream parlour while at “West” side station, passengers are provided with access to a casino and more touristy kitsch.

The two minute ride is arguably nothing spectacular but does demonstrate of how a small cable lift can be designed into the local environment. It’s a little difficult to tell from aerial images, but the stations appear to be fully integrated (if not somewhat connected) with adjacent buildings.

The great thing about this chairlift is that it functions as a complement to a small bridge located just a few hundred metres away. So arguably, the Transcanal play no “serious” transport role, rather it is merely a “fun” away to cross the river.

But as we discussed before time and time again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with fun, in fact it should be encouraged wherever and whenever it is appropriate.

There are countless scenarios where short-haul chairlifts and gondolas could provide a complementary and a high level of service and there’s a few that comes to mind.

But what do you think? Would small and fun CPT systems be welcomed in more cities? And where would you build one?

 

PS: A big thanks goes to reader Mira R. for the information and links!



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03
Oct

2014

Weekly Roundup: Berlin Shows Off Cabins; Urban Cable Car Projects in Brest & Constantine Chugs Along

Cabin Interior of Cable Car for IGA 2017 in Berlin. Image from Morgenpost.de.

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of urban gondolas, cable cars and cable propelled transit:



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19
Sep

2014

Weekly Roundup: Urban Cable Cars Open in La Paz and Algiers; Proposals in Sydney, New York and Quito

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of urban gondolas, cable cars and cable propelled transit:



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21
Mar

2014

Weekly Roundup: Urban Cable Cars Proposed in Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Image by Flickr user Siri. B.L.

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit:

  • News out of Haiti suggests that Port-au-Prince may soon consider the implementation of a 5 phase cable car system. Poma proposed a Metrocable network to country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance last week.
  • Last week we brought you news of a cable car tender in Potosi, Bolivia. Users on Skyscrapercity are now shedding more light on its potential alignment.


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06
Dec

2013

Weekly Roundup: Nantes, France Releases Feasibility Study Tender for Urban Cable Car

Nantes- la Loire

Loire River in Nantes, France. Image by Flickr user manuel | MC.

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit:



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01
Nov

2013

Weekly Roundup: Abidjan of Ivory Coast to Study Urban Cable Car and Brest, France Chooses Cabin Design

Brest Téléphérique’s custom cabin design by designer Eric Rhinn. Image from cotebrest.fr.

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit:

  • A few days ago, the Constantine Téléphérique was reopened. At the same time, the Chief Operating Officer of the system was sacked. The cable car was closed since September 29, but apparently for no real reason according a report by Swiss experts.


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10
Apr

2013

Aerotram (Urban Gondola) in Toulouse, France Selects Architects – Expects to be ready by 2016/2017

Rendering of Universite Paul-Sabatier Station. Image from Midi-Pyrenees.

Exciting news for CPT came out of Toulouse, France last week. Wilkinson Eyre — the team who designed the Emirates Air Line in London — has been chosen as the architects for the city’s urban gondola or “Aerotram” project.

It appears that the proposal has been under investigation since 2009, and the existing alignment calls for a 2.6km line which connects three activity centres:

  1. University Paul Sabatier, 29,000 undergrads and metro station;
  2. CHU Rangueil Hospital, university hospital located Pech David hill (130m a.s.l.);
  3. Oncopole, a 220 hectare site home to a new €1 billion cancer research campus.

 

Proposed alignment map. Image from Midi Pyrenees.

Proposed alignment satellite. Image from Tisseo.

Approximately €40-44m has been allocated to the project. The modestly sized system of 1500 pphpd is estimated to transport 6000-7000 daily riders. Point to point transport will only take 10 minutes versus 32 minutes via bus and metro. Other key stats include:

  • Cabin size: 35 persons
  • Technology: 3S/TDG
  • Total cabins: 20 (18 during peak)
  • Cabin frequency: 1min 30 secs (peak); 5-7 min (off-peak)
  • Speed: 15km/h

Undoubtedly, if the available renderings were based off of reality, the station and towers will be of the more aesthetically pleasing variety. While the extent of the customization is uncertain at this time, this issue will be of particular interest as previous highly customized urban CPT systems have been subject to significant scope creep (i.e. think Portland and London). The budget of €40-44m will certainly test the abilities of the project team.

Given the language barriers, exactly why 3S/TDG technology was chosen for a 1500 pphpd capacity system is unclear at this time — a MDG system would be able to perform a similar task at a lower price tag. However, among a range of benefits, a 3S line could offer greater reliability since it can operate under higher wind speeds. My suspicion (and I say this through my own personal experiences) is that tricable systems tend to fare better in terms of optics and public acceptance when it comes to implementing CPT systems in the Western world.

I’m certain there may be other reasons and if any of our readers have more details, we’d love to hear from you. Overall, this is appears to be a groundbreaking project as it may be the first 3S CPT system to be fully integrated into a local transit network.

 

 

 



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